The Untold Stories Of Women And The ChurchExemplo

Christine de Pizan

Around the year 1275, a man named Jean de Meun wrote a continuation to the poem The Romance of the Rose. Over 17,500 lines long, his contribution to this poem was massive, and the public couldn’t get enough of it—the work was possibly the most read book in Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries. Readers loved its satirical commentary on subjects such as nobility, royalty, marriage, and women.

On that last subject, though, de Meun was … pretty harsh. He depicted women as little more than deceptive seducers, and he wasn’t the only one. The character of women was a topic frequently debated around this time in Europe. Aristotle’s views, in particular, were popular, which included the beliefs that women were impulsive, jealous, void of shame and self-respect, and, again, deceptive.

What thoughts did women have on this subject? When men debated the topic, women weren’t typically present or able to voice their own views. But they weren’t unaware of what was being said about them, and they had some opinions of their own.

Enter Christine de Pizan.

Christine was a widow whose husband died of the plague in 1389, leaving her to provide for her mother and children. She turned to writing, first starting with love ballads, which eventually caught the attention (and patronage) of the French royal family.

Christine was well aware of Jean de Meun’s work, its views, and its popularity. So in 1402, she began publishing works of her own. Her first two books directly challenged the ideas presented in The Romance of the Rose. And in 1405, she published her most famous work, which she named The Book of the City of Ladies. In this book, she sought to make a broad defense of women. Her main argument? The biblical truth that men and women are all created in the image of God and have souls capable of embracing God’s goodness. Along with that argument, Christine filled the book with the stories of dozens of women (such as the biblical characters of Deborah, Ruth, Elizabeth, and Mary) who showcased this truth.

When Christine witnessed a wrong, she turned to her faith and biblical truth and used them as a foundation to support what she had to say. And thanks to her courage, women were given a voice in the debate concerning their worth.

God has given each of us a voice, and He’s gifted all of us in expressing our voices in different ways, whether through conversation, singing, writing, or any other number of ways. But no matter how He’s gifted us, each of us can use our voices to glorify God and proclaim His truth, particularly as it concerns the world around us.

So, the next time you feel God prompting you to speak up, don’t pass up the opportunity. You might be surprised to find out how He’ll use what you have to say.

Pray: God, thank You for giving me a voice. Help me to speak up for things that matter to You, and give me the words to say when those situations arise. In Jesus’ name, amen.